Chapter 89 - 88: Baffling and Bewildering

Chapter 89: Chapter 88: Baffling and Bewildering

Gourd Mountain.

From a distance, Li Ye saw two men playing a board game on the mountaintop, as well as a bruised and battered Ge Rui, who was lying on the ground, his condition unknown.

In this world, cultivators who reached the Golden Core Realm had a single chance to fine-tune their appearance. Unless their lifespan was nearing its end, as long as they maintained their cultivation, they would remain forever youthful.

Therefore, it was difficult to guess a cultivator’s cultivation level based on their age or looks.

His senior brother, who was over 180 years old, looked almost the same age as Xu Jingxing, who was well over a thousand.

...

"Lei Wenjie and Qiu Ming of the Demon Sect." Qu Hao recognized the two players at a glance. His expression turned grim as he said, "Sect Leader Meng, protect Li Hao. If we’re outmatched, retreat immediately."

He paused, then took a Jade Pendant from his Storage Pouch and handed it to Li Ye. "Wear this. It can block nine attacks from a Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator."

Huh!

’The Cyan Sun Sect gave me a pile of Protective Treasures that, all together, could block ten attacks from the Divinity Transformation Realm. But Qu Hao casually pulls out a single item that can block nine.’

’A minor sect really can’t compare to a major one!’

’Still, counting defenses against Divinity Transformation Realm attacks by the number of hits seems a bit unreliable. If a Protective Treasure is rated by the number of hits it can take, an offensive Magical Treasure could potentially land a ten-hit combo in a single strike...’

’No matter what, I can’t put all my faith in Magical Treasures.’

’My own strength and Derived Skills are what truly matter...’

’There is great terror between life and death. I awakened my first three Derived Skills while fighting powerful enemies, so this is another opportunity.’

Although Qu Hao and Meng Mingzhe were being cautious, Li Ye knew that as long as Ge Rui had revealed enough information, his own life wouldn’t be in danger.

His identity as someone from the Otherworld was his true protective shield.

’Otherwise, Lei Wenjie and his partner wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to lure me out...’

...

Lei Wenjie and Qiu Ming stopped their game.

Li Ye keenly sensed their gazes lock onto him.

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, what are their cultivation levels?" Li Ye asked.

"Fifty years ago, I clashed with Lei Wenjie once. At the time, he was mid-stage Divinity Transformation Realm, same as me," Qu Hao said, his eyes never leaving the two men. "Qiu Ming is his senior martial brother, so his cultivation should be similar to, or higher than, Lei Wenjie’s."

"Divinity Transformation Realm, huh!" Li Ye remarked with a sigh, nodding.

"Li Hao, stay behind me and don’t make a move," Meng Mingzhe whispered to Li Ye.

His expression was grim. He was late-stage Divinity Transformation Realm, the highest cultivation level among them, but battles between cultivators weren’t decided by realm alone. There were also Magical Treasures, weapons, and Cultivation Techniques to consider.

Lei Wenjie and Qiu Ming were both Direct Disciples of the Demon Lord. Any few Magical Treasures casually bestowed upon them by the Demon Lord could erase the gap in their cultivation realms.

Even though the Cyan Sun Sect’s standing wasn’t low, its foundation couldn’t compare to the Upper Three Sects or the Three Evil Sects.

He felt a pang of envy just looking at the Jade Pendant Qu Hao had casually given Li Ye.

’I just hope this whole charade doesn’t fall apart in a moment,’ he thought.

’Since the people from the Demon Sect specifically asked for Li Hao, they must have learned the truth about the Wenda Alliance from Ge Rui. The moment Qu Hao and Lei Wenjie meet, if they exchange more than a few words, this whole thing could collapse...’

Meng Mingzhe was growing fonder and fonder of the word "collapse" these days.

’So stressful!’

He stared at Qu Hao’s back. ’I hope he doesn’t believe a word Lei Wenjie says. After all, the guy seems pretty naive. He should still be thoroughly fooled by Li Hao.’

...

Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators were incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, Qu Hao had brought Li Ye into the sky above Gourd Mountain.

Lei Wenjie and his companion ascended at the same time.

Lei Wenjie held the unconscious Ge Rui, while Qiu Ming carried his game board.

"Qu Hao, so you tracked the trail to the Cyan Sun Sect as well?" Lei Wenjie said with a laugh, glancing at him.

"Lei Wenjie, the Wenda Alliance is a serious matter. The slightest misstep could throw the entire cultivation world into chaos. I don’t want to fight you today. I only want to exchange some information," Qu Hao said, his face cold.

"Exchange information?" Lei Wenjie and his companion glanced at each other, both seeing the amusement in the other’s eyes.

Meng Mingzhe’s heart skipped a beat.

"Yes." Qu Hao keenly sensed something was wrong. ’Like me, they’ve only captured a pawn cast aside by the Wenda Alliance. What’s there to be so smug about?’

"You’re the one who suggested exchanging information. You go first."

Lei Wenjie said with a smile, his eyes sweeping over Li Ye.

He had already tortured the full "truth" about the Wenda Alliance out of Ge Rui, so he knew the so-called alliance was nothing but a joke. But from the look on Qu Hao’s face, it was clear he didn’t know.

He suddenly found the situation becoming much more amusing.

’The Righteous and Evil Daos have been irreconcilable since ancient times. Perhaps the Demon Sect can use this opportunity to get one over on those so-called prestigious sects of the Righteous Dao... provided they continue to believe the Wenda Alliance is real.’

After learning the truth, he had already sent someone back to report it.

’Now it seems I’ll have to suppress the truth about the Wenda Alliance at its source and turn it into a complete mystery. To do that, both the Cyan Sun Sect and Li Ye must fall into our hands...’

In an instant, a series of plans flashed through Lei Wenjie’s mind.

"..."

Qu Hao fell silent, considering whether to tell Lei Wenjie the truth.

Logically, letting the Wenda Alliance cause chaos among the Three Evil Sects would only benefit the Upper Three Sects.

But the thought of the Wenda Alliance lying in wait, ready to stir up trouble in the cultivation world, made him decide to tell Lei Wenjie the truth after all.

The Wenda Alliance was far more terrifying than the Three Evil Sects.

Besides, having the Demon Sect focus its energy on purging the Wenda Alliance would also buy the Upper Three Sects time to root out their own traitors.

For the sake of the greater good, Qu Hao finally made his decision. "Lei Wenjie, the Wenda Alliance has been hidden for a thousand years. Its recent slip-up was likely a feint to conceal its true intentions. I speculate that they’re planning to move from the shadows into the open..."

Huh?

Seeing how dead serious Qu Hao was, Lei Wenjie raised an eyebrow. He occasionally glanced at Li Ye, the smile on his face growing wider. ’Alright, this guy hasn’t found out the truth at all.’

’Judging by the way he’s protecting Li Ye, it seems he not only failed to find the truth but has been led completely astray.’

’This little fellow Li Hao has a quick mind. He’s turned the world upside down in just two months. He’d be a perfect fit for my Demon Sect!’

Listening to their conversation, Meng Mingzhe was terrified.

Li Ye watched the men before him with great interest, guessing at their inner thoughts.

’What Ge Rui knows is from before I left the mountain; that’s the original version.’

’What Meng Mingzhe knows is the story I made up later; that’s the second version.’

’What Qu Hao knows is the heavily modified third version...’

’Both sides are in a standoff, and both think they know the real truth. How interesting!’

"So there’s more to the story?" Lei Wenjie feigned surprise. "That’s not far from what I speculated. Qu Hao, leave Li Hao behind. You can go."

"Lei Wenjie, I’ve told you everything I know! What do you want Li Hao for?" Qu Hao said angrily. "Shouldn’t your priority be to return to the Demon Sect, inform them of the truth, and hurry to investigate the traitors hidden in the Wenda Alliance? Since you captured Ge Rui, don’t you know that the great war between the Righteous and Evil Daos was also instigated by the Wenda Alliance?"

’...’ Meng Mingzhe looked at Qu Hao’s back and sighed silently. ’You’re the real fool here!’

"We don’t care," Lei Wenjie said with a smile, confident that he held the real truth. "Qu Hao, I don’t mind telling you an even crueler truth. The Wenda Alliance was founded by the Demon Sect from the very beginning! Without the Demon Sect’s backing, how could the Wenda Alliance have hidden so deeply for so long..."

Knowing the truth of the Wenda Alliance’s creation, Lei Wenjie was more than happy to help Li Ye fan the flames and throw the Upper Three Sects into greater chaos.

As he spoke, he even gave Li Ye a wink.

Heh!

Li Ye chuckled to himself. ’The people from the Demon Sect are indeed far more interesting than those from the Righteous Dao.’

"Lei Wenjie, I told you the truth out of good will. It’s one thing if you don’t appreciate it, but why are you making fun of me?" Qu Hao raged. "You bunch of idiots, do you deserve to be played like fiddles by the Wenda Alliance?"

"I’m telling the truth," Lei Wenjie laughed. "You were the one who suggested we exchange information. I did, but now you don’t believe me."

"Do you take me for a fool? If the Wenda Alliance belongs to the Demon Sect, why did you bother capturing Ge Rui, and why come to the Cyan Sun Sect?" Qu Hao pointed at Ge Rui and snapped, "Leave Ge Rui here. Then you can go."

’Idiot!’

Lei Wenjie sent a strand of Spiritual Power into Ge Rui’s meridians to wake him up. "Is that your junior brother over there?" he asked.

Ge Rui opened his eyes and looked at Li Ye, a flash of guilt in his gaze. "Junior Brother, I..."

Before he could finish, Lei Wenjie had already snapped his neck. He tossed the body down casually as a beam of Sword Light shot straight for Qu Hao. "Senior Brother, now!"

Qiu Ming threw the game board into the sky.

Nineteen vertical and nineteen horizontal beams of golden light formed a massive net that descended upon Qu Hao’s group of three.

At the same time, a dozen black game pieces flew toward Meng Mingzhe.

As the pieces flew, they emitted wisps of black energy from which the faint, soul-shaking sounds of wailing ghosts and howling wolves could be heard.

"Despicable."

Qu Hao cursed angrily. With a wave of his hand, a longsword appeared in his palm. He then sent a torrent of Sword Light slashing toward the game pieces aimed at Li Ye.

When the black energy met the Sword Light, it was like snow hitting a red-hot iron bar. Amidst shrill screams, it rapidly evaporated and dissipated.

A flying sword also appeared in Meng Mingzhe’s hand. He unleashed a hundred beams of Sword Light toward Qiu Ming, coordinating his attack with Qu Hao.

"Ge Rui is dead. Don’t get bogged down in this fight. Go!"

After repelling the first wave of attacks, Qu Hao no longer hesitated. He raised his hand and flung a Talisman at the game board.

A silver Talisman blocked the golden light descending from the board.

Then, he sent another torrent of Sword Light at Lei Wenjie, wrapped Li Ye in Spiritual Power, and turned to flee. In the end, he didn’t trust Meng Mingzhe to protect Li Ye and decided to handle it himself.

Meng Mingzhe followed close behind.

"Think you can escape?"

Qiu Ming sneered. He flicked out several white game pieces to break the Talisman, formed a hand seal, and turned the game board. The golden grid instantly appeared to block the trio’s path.

Qu Hao swung his sword at the grid.

The Sword Light collided with the grid, causing it to tremble, but it didn’t dissipate. Instead, it pressed down on the three of them.

Left with no choice, Qu Hao threw out another Talisman.

Everything happened in a flash.

Li Ye watched, utterly amazed.

’Holy crap, is this a battle between Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators?’

’The black dragon from my last world was pathetic compared to them. It probably wouldn’t even last a single round!’